for fairness,respect Rochester


office building in Hauppauge. They chanted over and over, “We want respect.” “I am so proud of every single person


here today,” said PEF Vice President Joe Fox. “You are the union and you make up the union with your brothers and sisters who are rallying in other cities across the state. The governor will listen to us because we are going to make it happen.” “We are the state workers who provide


vital services, and the governor needs to recognize and respect us,” added PEF Region 12 Coordinator Connie Batts.


Why members rallied Reasons varied why members came to


the rallies. Ted Vazquez, a NYS Insurance Fund


(NYSIF) hearing representative, said, “This rally and the others will show the governor state workers can and will come together. We deserve his respect and fair contract negotiations.” A 21-year NYSIF employee, Nancy


Benicasa said her co-workers are willing to show union support because they want to keep the benefits they earned, but they also want to maintain quality services. Charles Guthrie, a regional fisheries


manager at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said, “The


Binghamton


governor is not giving state agencies enough people to do the work that needs to be done.”


Some of the people who FOX


marched in Poughkeepsie already knew they were targeted for layoffs, according to PEF Region 9 Coordinator Vivian Street. She said state facilities in Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam, Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties have


lost more than 700 union employees since last September, and more were sure to follow.


Around the state The whistle blowing and chanting


stretched across the state. Members in Buffalo were also fired-up.


PEF Region 1 Coordinator Kevin Hintz said the governor has tried to portray state workers as over-paid and over-pensioned. “I challenge anybody who thinks we are


over-compensated to come here, step in our shoes, do our job for a day and see what it’s like,” Hintz said. PEF Region 2 Coordinator Bonnie Wood


said members gathered in Elmira and Hornell “to persuade the governor to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.” Jim Carr, president of PEF Retirees,


said, “Parts of the governor’s plans, Hauppauge


particularly with health care, would negatively affect retirees.” In Rochester, PEF Region 3 Coordinator


John Prince said, “We know there’s a fiscal crisis in this state and the union wants to help. But the governor needs to be fair to us and work with us.” “The 250 members who came out to


support the Syracuse rally have sent their message that we all deserve respect,” said PEF Region 4 Coordinator Peter Banks. “Together, we are making a difference.” In Binghamton, PEF Region 5


Coordinator Mary Twitchell told the press, “We’ve pushed, we’ve yelled, we’ve screamed about millionaires avoiding fair taxes. Making them pay would solve a lot of the state’s fiscal needs.” More than 100 people crowded the well


of the state office building in Utica where PEF Region 6 Coordinator Kevin Conley said, “The governor needs to have respect for the public, as well as state employees.” PEF Region 7 Coordinator Tom


Donahue told local reporters in Malone, “The union’s proposed concessions give the governor the savings in numbers. Now it looks like it is not about the money. We all keep telling him, ‘We’re willing to sacrifice, but not be sacrificed.’” Brynien said the thousands ofmembers


who participated in the rallies succeeded in sending theirmessages, not just as state employees, but as taxpayers and voters, too.


Buffalo www.pef.org


Poughkeepsie


Syracuse The Communicator July-August 2011—Page 5


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